Barakat brothers live in a divided Palestine

Two brothers, one living in Gaza and the other in the West Bank, reside in opposite poles of Palestine, each increasingly distinct, adding fresh obstacles to the quest for a two-state solution that envisions Israel and Palestine side-by-side.

Tayseer Barakat owns a restaurant in Ramallah, West Bank. His business is doing well as the West Bank prospers. He sends much of his money to his family, who lives in Gaza.

Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post

Tayseer Barakat owns a restaurant, Ziryab, on Ramallah's main street. He redecorated it by hand with a modern and urbane collection of artwork. The West Bank is enjoying renewed economic growth and an emerging sense of possibility.

Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post

The family of Sami Barakat, Tayseer's brother, gathers in the living room at their family house in Al Falouja, northern Gaza.

Eman Mohammed-for The Washington Post

Sami Barakat plays with his granddaughter while his youngest son and sister look on. While hardly radical, and not supportive of violence, Sami's family says they are disenchanted with aspects of Hamas' governance -- the children in particular do not envision peace.

Eman Mohammed-for The Washington Post

Mohammed Barakat 22, the eldest son of Sami Barakat, reads the Koran while preparing for a job interview. Mohammed just graduated from Gaza's Islamic University with a degree in Islamic law, and hoped for appointment as an imam at a local mosque. But since he is not a member of Hamas, his ideas won't be heard from the minbar at Friday prayers. Instead he is registering marriages at a local courthouse.

Eman Mohammed-for The Washington Post

Sami Barakat's wife and niece make tea in the kitchen.

Eman Mohammed-for The Washington Post

Ahmed Barakat, 16, the youngest member of Sami Barakat's family, watches TV in their living room.

Eman Mohammed-for The Washington Post

Sami, left, ran a small grocery store near Jabaliyeh before learning the money-changing trade and opening his own office, pictured here. It has let him pay the bills and acquire his own house outside the refugee camp. But of late he is a moneychanger in an economy with little cash and little commerce with the rest of the world. He now depends on whatever Tayseer and another brother in the U.S. can contribute each month.